Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/73284

This paper reconsiders the relation between Iliad and Aethiopis from a perspective that is different from previous studies by examining whether the Iliad is modeled on stories of Aethiopis. 1. Three-fourths of all the 18 characters (13 characters), excluding the ones who died and Nestor from the 22 characters who appear in the funeral games in honor of Patroklos, Iliad 23.257–897, are included among the 30 warriors of the wooden horse in Quintus Smyrnaeus’s Posthomerica 12.314–32 (11 participants of the games except two who died and Agamemnon are included among the 30 warriors). Moreover, among these 11 participants, Epeios (a builder of the wooden horse) appears only in the funeral games of Patroklos, while four other participants (Eumelos, Euryalos, Polypoites, and Leonteus) do not play an active role in Iliad. This paper focuses on the abovementioned points, by examining the references that Quintus used, and it suggests that the poem (Aethiopis ?) used as a source by the poet of the funeral games of Patroklos and the story about the warriors of the wooden horse were originally closely related. 2. This paper examines previous discussions on the chronological relation between the funeral games of Achilleus and those of Patroklos, and indicates that Achilleus’ funeral games were older than Patroklos’ funeral games. Furthermore, it suggests the possibility of the latter having been composed around 600 B.C., based on previous research on the linguistic and stylistic analysis of the texts as well as inquiries into the old customs of funeral games and the development of the athletic games in ancient Greece. Because of the abovementioned analysis, this paper considers that the poet of the funeral games of Patroklos borrowed the stories of Achilleus, which is related to the wooden horse. In conclusion, the paper claims that the poet of Iliad was influenced by stories ofAethiopis composed by Arktinos whose Iliu Persis (Sack of Troy) depicted the active roles of the warriors of the wooden horse.